Chapter 4: You're my Friend

Everyone has gathered outside the palace. Be it with royals or commoners, no one missed this very moment that changed their whole history. All eyes stared at the marching soldiers, armed with their splendid armor and weapons, some riding horses, while the others are proudly waving the flag for this memorable event.

They all settled and aligned near the stage. Every eyes glued on one man standing at the center near the throne. Beside him, one man stepped forward and unfolds the scroll.

"King Vladimir Anderson Van Helsing, is dead!"

The people started whispering at each other when they heard the news.

"Thus! To this day on wards, there shall be one and true king of vampires... And now, you bear as witnesses... We crowned, the one and only Dracula... King Serafino Orfeo Alucard!"

The soldiers shouted, "All hail King Alucard!"

The vampire, called Alucard, stepped forward and knelled in one knee to receive the crown. Just when the crown was about to place on his head, someone suddenly exclaimed:

"Not so fast, Serafino!"

Everyone's gazes landed on the vampire standing near the stage. But everyone was surprised when this vampire removed the hood which shows her long and red hair.

The king was astonished, "Y-you--!"

Whispers started among the vampires.

"She looks familiar."

"Where have I seen her beauty?"

"Hey! Isn't that Helsing's daughter?"

"I thought she died with her father."

"What happened to her hair?"

The murmurs grew louder and louder, but they were silenced when the girl with the red hair spoke.

"Three days... Three days from now, I challenge thee on war!"

Everyone was surprised at her declaration.

"This battle will decide who shall be the one and true ruler of vampires." She added.

The soldiers and some vampires laughed. They thought this lady is out of her mind.

Alucard scoffed, "You?" Then he laughed, "What could 'you' do? You're just a woman, you can't rule among the vampires!"

And the laughter grew louder and louder with a form of mockery on their faces.

"Princess, should I kill them?" Asked the gentleman beside her.

"Not yet, Calcifer. We'll have our time." She smirked and her fangs showed as she looked at the king.

"We'll see. I expect that you won't cower, Serafino..." Then her eyes glowed in bright red as she glared.

"Because I'll make sure you'll pay for your crimes." She warned before leaving. And no one dares to touch nor stop her from where she's heading. There's something with those eyes that made them freeze in fear, even King Alucard himself.

"And the war broke out between the two powerful vampire families: the Alucards and the Helsings. The Helsings, ruled by a woman, defeated the Alucards. Thus, she was enthroned as the strongest among her kind and hailed as the Vampire Queen. She was known with sharp bright red eyes and bloody red hair. But no one knows what happened to her after the war. And there are rumors that she bore a son but the whereabouts of her lover remain unknown."

When she turned the page, another topic was shown. That made Yana frown in disappointment.

'There are records about vampires, but this all there is about the queen. Besides, it's written in the book of mythology. I wonder why is that?' She thought and glanced at the book cover that she's reading.

"Because no one believes vampires exist in the first place." Rae suddenly spoke to her right ear that made the lass flinched and screamed.

The lad covered her mouth as the old librarian lady glared at them. He smiled apologetically.

Yana removed his hand and whispered, "You almost gave me a heart attack! Why do you have to do that?"

"We're in the library, I have to whisper what I'm going to say."

"Not that! Don't just pop out of nowhere!"

"But I didn't. I'm already here a while ago but you look so busy reading that you didn't notice me."

And with that, Yana blushed bashfully.

"I-is that so? S-sorry then..."

Rae chuckled, "No worries. Should we go back to class now?" He stood up when the bell rings.

Their reading time is over, and it's time for their next subject: Literature.

"Alright class, for your project, you're going to present one literary work in mythology and report it with a partner. Please give me a copy of the list of your class, with their partners and chosen literary work. That's all. I'll be leaving you guys behind to research your work." Then the teacher left the classroom.

The class started to murmur not because of their project, but they're more concerned of the partner they'll choose.

"I'll invite Rae first!" Said one girl, sitting on the first row.

"No! Rae will choose me!" Said the other on the second row.

The third one scoffed, "How can you be so sure? He will choose me!"

'Clearly, he can hear you. Why do they have to be so obvious?' Yana, on the other hand, furrowing her eye brows as she listened to those girls.

'I wonder what Rae will say...' She glanced at the lad beside her when he suddenly stood up, raising his hand.

"Miss President," he called to the girl in front who's preparing the list, "I want Yana to be my partner for the project."

With his declaration, all the girls were surprised. But the one who's more surprised than this is none other than the chosen one: Yana.

'W-what the heck is he doing?!' She can feel the stares of her classmates on her.

If looks can kill, she's already dead a minute ago.

The president nodded at Rae's request. As if any girl can refuse his angelic face.

And with that, they were allowed to use the remaining time to start researching about their chosen literary work. So the students went on their ways, most likely, to the library. While the others, to the computer lab.

"I'm sorry Ella..." Yana told her best friend.

Usually, when it comes on pair work, it's always the two of them. That's why she's apologizing and feeling guilty for leaving her friend behind.

"It's no big deal." Ella smiled, "We should not be afraid to try something new."

And with that, Yana thanked the heavens for having such an understandable friend.

"See you."

When Ella left, Rae approached Yana.

"Why did you choose me? There's a lot of girls around who wants to have you as their partner." She asked.

Rae smiled, "You seemed interested in mythology and I think, we can get along with it."

And the lass remembered the time he caught her reading the book earlier.

"Ah, that's..."

"Besides," the lad added, "I feel safer in your hands." He said referring to his secret.

"You have no idea how much they wanted to kill me with their eyes because of what you did!" She groaned.

Rae laughed and messed her hair.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

The lass sighed, "Anyways, so what literary work are we going to present?" She asked as they began to walk on the hallway.

Since Literature is their last subject, they are now free to go home. So both of them are walking on their way out of the school premise.

Rae held his chin, "Hmm... There are a lot of good stories. That reminds me... I have a bunch of books about mythology at home. Wanna check it out?"

The lass blinked and glanced at him, "Really? Sure, I want to see it." She suddenly got excited.

Little did she know, this would be one of her regrets in life. Because she forgot one important thing...

Soon as they arrived, the lass was reminded of something she forgot. That this classmate of hers is a vampire and he lives in this Gothic haunted house!

"Stay here, I'll get some books." Rae said when they entered the gate and walked towards the wooden door. The lass just nodded in response.

Then, he entered the house and closed the door. And Yana, started to look around while waiting.

'This house has a beautiful garden. If it wasn't for the creepy-looking house, I won't be scared like this!' She said to herself as she started to get nervous.

The clouds get darker and darker as white mist started to lurked all around.

The lass hugged herself, "What took him so long? It's getting chilly out here!" She mumbled.

Just then, drops of water started to fall.

"Ah! It's raining." She took few steps backwards so that she won't get wet on the rain.

But when she accidentally leaned her back on the door, it suddenly opened and she fell on the floor.

"Ouch! That hurts!" She slowly stands up while gently caressing her back.

Just then, the door suddenly shut on it's own.

"W-what the--!?" And everything turned pitch black.

The lass panicked, 'I can't see anything!' She quickly took her cellphone and turned the flashlight on.

She gulped, "Hello? I-is anybody here? Rae?" Yana called as she slowly walked around.

'Ugh! Now I'm scared! This is what I get for watching those horror movies!' She cried.

'Why is his house so dark? Turning the lights on wouldn't hurt, right? I should find the switch.'

When she turned to her right side, she saw a huge painting near the stair case. In the painting, there's a woman, wearing an armor with a big black sword in her right hand.

'Woah! She's so beautiful! She's like a goddess!' She dropped her jaw open in awe.

But chills suddenly ran on her spine when her eyes landed on the woman's sharp red eyes and bloody red hair.

"C-could it be... The vampire queen?" When she just made a discovery, she suddenly heard some girls giggling as it echoes around.

"Looks like I've caught a mouse in our house!" Yana turned around and saw a pale white floating face with it's pointed ears, red eyes, and sharp fangs.

She took several steps backwards when someone spoke behind her, Did you know that..." Another floating white face appeared!

Then she turned to her left and another one appears, "No one escapes..."

Terrified, she turned right and another one appears, "This house alive!"

All floating white faces moved closer and closer to her.

"N-no..." She trembled and screamed. And all of a sudden, the lights are turned on.

"What's happening here?" Rae came and saw the three maids and one butler around Yana.

They were all holding a flashlight near their chins.

Upon seeing his face, her tears started to fall.

"R-Rae..." Even she's trembling, she tried to reach him but failed to do so when she suddenly felt dizzy. She can feel her body falling when Rae rushed to catch her.

"Oh no! Yana!"

Everything around her suddenly became dark and blurry.

"Look what you did to her!"

"My apologies, young master."

And all became black and dark.

The next thing she knew, she can hear faint voices around her.

"Young master, I'm just saying that we can't have humans inside this house."

"And why not? She's my classmate. We have to finish our project on time." This for sure, she knows the voice belongs to Rae.

Yana slowly opened her eyes and saw Rae beside her, talking to a man who's perhaps around 30 or above.

He has curly black hair with some white highlights in the middle. His hair style was neat and clean, seems like well taken care of. His pale white skin, pointed ears, and sharp fangs prove that he's a vampire.

They stopped arguing when they heard her groan.

"Yana, you're awake!" Rae delightedly said.

The lass slowly sits up while holding her head, "Ugh... What happened?"

"You collapsed. I'm terribly sorry if you got scared. But they won't do it again and won't harm you, right Cal?" Rae glanced at the gentleman with a meaningful look on his face.

'Cal? So he's Rae's friend.'

The vampire sighed in defeat and bowed his head together with the three maids.

"We apologize for our rude behavior earlier, Miss Yana."

The lass shook her head, "N-no... It's alright..." She smiled awkwardly.

And with that, a smile slowly drawn on Rae's face.

"Yana, I'd like you to meet my family: this is Cal..." He points out to the gentleman.

"Calcifer Aldon, I am young master's butler and his guardian. A pleasure to meet you, miss Yana." He politely bowed his head. Even he doesn't mean any harm, the seriousness on his face makes him scare anyone effortlessly with his sharp gazes and the weird shape of his eye brows.

Yana gulps, 'I hope he's not mad...'

"Greetings! We are young master's maids." The three girls politely bowed their heads. They have the same face feature but can easily set apart through their expressions.

"I'm Ran." Said the girl with a stoic expression.

"I'm Ren!" Said the other as she proudly grinned.

"And I'm Rin!" Said the third one with a cute and sweet smile.

They all have long black hair, straight bangs, slit eyes, pointed ears, and pale white skin.

'They're triplets! They must be Chinese?' Yana thought.

"And don't forget about me! I am young master's protector!" Primo came out of Rae's bag.

"Uhm, right." The lass nodded as if to agree.

Rae glanced at Cal and the others. With that, they understood what he meant.

"Well then, we'll take our leave." They bowed again before going out.

"Oh c'mon, Cal. Stop making that scary face! You need to calm down." Said Primo soon as the butler closed the door.

"I can't possibly calm down knowing there's a human beside the young master!" He said in gritted teeth as he grabbed the small bat and squeezed it.

"Oh boy! He's getting dramatic again." Ren murmured and heaved a sigh.

Rin hushed, "Shh! He might hear you!"

"Both of you, we should go back to work." Ran reminded them and they had no choice but to comply. Then they followed their sister.

"C-cal... Stop it... C-can't breathe!" Primo begged as he struggled in his hand. When the butler realized it, he opened his fist and let the poor bat go.

He coughed, "Let's just... view this... Situation positively..."

"What do you mean?"

Primo took a deep breath, "We all know that the young master is... A special vampire. We tried several times but he refused to drink blood. Now, if there's a human beside him..."

"He won't be able to resist his vampire instincts!" Cal added as if he finally saw the big picture of the situation.

"That's right! That human girl will help us make young master into a full grown vampire." Primo said making an evil grin.

Cal smirked, "Yes, indeed. The young master wouldn't have a hard time hunting his prey with that human girl beside him."

"Now all we have to do is to assist and wait for the young master to act according to his instincts." Primo added.

Thus, these two agreed to work together for their so-called evil plan.

Now it's just the two of them inside the room, it makes an uncomfortable feeling for the lass.

"Err.. So, where am I?" She asked.

"This is my room." The lad casually said which makes it more awkward for her.

"I've brought the books I've found about mythology. We can choose several stories from here." He said and handed some books to her.

"Thanks." She smiled shyly.

"You have a lot of questions to ask me, right?" He suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"About my family."

"Oh, uhm... You can really read my mind." The lass sighed in defeat.

"Well, I should start with the triplets. The eldest is Ran. She has the power to control the sound. Next to her is Ren. She has the power to control earth. The youngest is Rin. She can talk and control the plants. They are all level-B vampires."

He began talking non-stop, "Next, Calcifer. He was the adopted child of our family and was promoted as my mother's knight. Better not to make him mad, because he can control the fire." He chuckled.

"Hold on..." Yana interrupted, "I appreciate that you answer all my curiosities but... Why do you easily give vital information such as these? I'm a human. We don't belong to the same species. What if I'm a spy? Don't you feel any suspicion on me?"

Now, another feeling suddenly rose up within her.

For sure, she's not mad at him. It's something like... She got irritated that he trusts people so easily without a single care of what danger it might bring.

'Trust'.

Such a big word indeed.

As far as she can remember, there are only few people she trusts the most. Yes, she's one of those types who suspects first before anything else. Maybe because she have seen how her mother's trust have been shattered few times. Yeah, that must be the reason why she suddenly felt this irritation that he easily trusted someone like her, whom he just met three days ago.

"Answer me." She demanded and looked at him.

The lad didn't respond immediately. Instead, he smiled gently much to her surprise.

"Is there any reason for me to suspect a friend?"

"A... Friend?" She echoed and he nodded.

"Yep. You're my friend, Yana. Isn't that obvious? So I trust you." He grinned brightly as he chuckled.

Perplexed, the lass didn't respond. All this time, she's been aware of his presence after finding out his secret. It was her who's been suspicious of him all the time. She's the one who didn't trust him despite how he warmly treated her. He knew all of these and yet, he still approached her to be his friend.

She's been afraid. Her mother's sad face always flashing in her mind that hindered her from opening the door from others.

'Mom... maybe this time... it might be different, right?'

Rae blinked few times and got worried when he saw her reaction.

"W-what's wrong?"

The lass shook her head and chuckled, "Nothing... you're just... weird." She laughed and even she did, tears flowed from her eyes.

The lad tilted his head on the side, still confused.

"Eh? But you're the weird one for crying while laughing. And sometimes you're scary..."

She sniffed and wiped her tears, "What do you mean?"

"Well, most of the time, your expression suddenly change while you talk to yourself. It's kinda weird for others who can't read your mind."

"Didn't I tell you to stop reading my mind? Do you want me to hit you?" She raised her fist.

"See? Just like that! You're making a scary face!" Rae laughed.

"Why you!" She grabbed a pillow and started hitting him as he laughed at her.

And with that, the lass hoped from the bottom of her heart that their friendship will last for a long time.

It was a feeling of refreshment to have a new friend and to realize something that she should change from now on. She was indeed right. Rae is a vampire yet he acts more humane than the others she met.

With a smile on her face, she dried her wet hair with a towel after going out of the bathroom.

Then, she heard her phone ringing. It was Ella calling her.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Yana... I need your help..."